Posts tagged confidence
August 2019 character development program, Confidence

As we’re nearing the end of summer and our students are starting to think about going back to school, we’ve decided to talk about confidence this month. Confidence is something that anyone can struggle with at any point of their life. We asked our students what they think confidence means to start off the month and got some great answers including “believing in yourself”, “doing something even if you’re scared” and “feeling good about yourself”. Instructors added in that you really have to use your mind and body when practicing confidence to think good thoughts about yourself and stand tall with good posture. We’ve talked about not doubting yourself, being proud of yourself but also making sure you do these things in a non-bragging way. 

This past week we started talking about ways to boost your confidence when you’re feeling a bit down. Some very important things to keep in mind are to never compare yourself to others. Everyone is on a completely different life path and often times thinking too much into what others do, how well they do things or how much better they are than you can really lead to low confidence. Spend your time around people that do great things but also make you feel great about the things you do! 

Another tip is to do something that’s good for you and/or you love to do. If you’re feeling down, go for a run, read a good book, play a musical instrument, listen to a song, sing, do a workout or go to your karate class! Usually moving around can help you feel better and definitely doing something that brings you joy helps!

We include confidence building into karate because often times in class, students may need to get up in front of other students and their teachers and perform. This can be a very scary experience for some people but maybe a great one for others! If you’re one of the ones that would rather do anything else than stand up in front of other people, then the best thing to do is just do it! The more you do it, the less scary the experience will be for you. This is also why we do our annual karate tournament- to practice confidence and courage! 

Ending on a favorite quote of some of our instructors- “Don’t fake it till you make it, fake it till you become it!”